ART. XII.-The Deformed Transformed; a drama. By the Right Hon. Lord Byron, 2nd Ed. London J. and H. L. Hunt, 1824. 8vo.

ever.

THIS then is the last work we are to expect from the pen of great poet. He closed the notice prefixed to it by saying that the rest may hereafter appear'-that doubt is settled for We had proposed some observations on this eccentric drama, and upon his writings in general, when the news of the noble author's decease reached us. We turn from the cold analysis we had made of his poetic powers with a changed heart, and view the work, which we had meditated with complacency, now with feelings little short of disgust. We shall defer the task of critical dissection to some more distant moment, and seek such consolation as we may find for a loss, which we share with the world in general, in tracing, as well as we are able from the materials before us, the last scenes of lord Byron's life; over which his generous connexion with the cause of liberty in Greece throws a glorious though a melancholy lustre

Where is that which is at peace? From the star
To the winding worm, all life is motion: and
In life commotion is the extremest point

Of life. The planet wheels till it becomes
A comet, and destroying as it sweeps

The stars, goes out. The poor worm winds its way,
Living upon the death of other things,

But still, like them, must live and die, the subject

Of something which has made it live and die.

He must obey what all obey, the rule

Of fixed Necessity: against her edict
Rebellion prospers not.

D. T. Part. I. Sc. 2.

The motives which induced lord Byron to leave Italy and join the Greeks struggling for emancipation from the yoke of their ignorant and cruel oppressors, are of so obvious a nature, that it is scarcely worth while to allude to them. It was in Greece that his high poetical faculties had been first most powerfully developed; and they who know the delight attendant, even in a very inferior degree, upon this intellectual process, will know how to appreciate the tender associations which, "soft as the memory of buried love," cling to the scenes and the persons that have first stimulated the dormant genius. Greece, a land of the most venerable and illustrious history, of a peculiarly grand and beautiful scenery, inhabited by various races, of the most wild and picturesque manners, was to him the land of excitement, never cloying-never wearying, ever changing excitement →such must necessarily have been the chosen and favorite spot

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of a man of powerful and original intellect, of quick and sensible feelings, of a restless and untameable spirit, of warm affections, of various information, and, above all, of one satiated and disgusted with the formality, hypocrisy, and sameness of daily life. Dwelling upon that country, as it is clear from all lord Byron's writings he did, with the fondest solicitude, and being, as he was well known to be, an ardent though perhaps not a very systematic lover of freedom, we may be certain that he was no unconcerned spectator of its recent revolution: and as soon as it appeared to him that his presence might be useful, he prepared to visit once more the shores of Greece. The imagination of lord Byron, however, was the subject and servant of his reason-in this instance he did not act, and perhaps never did, under the influence of the delusions of a wild enthusiasm, by which poets, very erroneously as regards great poets, are supposed to be generally led. was not until after very serious deliberation of the advantages to be derived from this step, and after acquiring all possible information on the subject, that he determined on it, and in this as in every other act regarding this expedition, as we shall find, proved himself a wise and practical philanthropist. Like all men educated as he had been, lord Byron too often probably obeyed the dictates of impulse, and threw up the reins to passions which he had never been taught the necessity of governing; but the world are under a grievous mistake if they fancy that lord Byron embarked for Greece with the ignorant ardour of a schoolboy, or the flighty fanaticism of a crusader. It appeared to him that there was a good chance of his being useful in a country which he loved-a field of honorable distinction was open to him, and doubtless he expected to derive no mean gratification from witnessing so singular and instructive a spectacle as the emancipation of Greece. A glorious career apparently presented itself, and he determined to try the event. When he had made up his mind to leave Italy for Greece, he wrote from Genoa to one of his most intimate friends, and constant companions then at Rome, saying " T-you must have heard I am going to Greece, why do you not come to me? I am at last determined-Greece is the only place I ever was contented in-I am serious-and did not write before, as I might have given you a journey for nothing-they all say I can be of great use in Greece. I do not know how, nor do they, but at all events let us try!" He had, says this friend, who knew him well, become ambitious of a name as distinguished for deeds, as it was already by his writings. It was but a short time before his decease, that he composed one of the most beautiful and touching of his songs on his 36th birth-day, which remarkably

Lord Byron embarked from Leghorn and arrived in Cephalonia in the early part of August, 1823, attended by a suite of six or seven friends in an English vessel (the Hercules, captain Scott), which he had hired for the express purpose of taking him to Greece. His Lordship had never seen any of the volcanic mountains, and for this purpose the vessel deviated from its regular course in order to pass the island of Stromboli. The vessel lay off this place a whole night in the hopes of witnessing the usual phenomena, when, for the first time within the memory of man, the volcano emitted no fire-the disappointed poet was obliged to proceed in no good humour with the fabled forge of Vulcan. Lord Byron was an eager and constant observer of nature, and generally spent the principal part of the night in solitary contemplation of the objects that present themselves in a sea voyage. "For many a joy could he from night's soft presence glean." He was far above any affectation of poetical ecstacy, but his whole works demonstrate the sincere delight he took in feeding his imagination with the glories of the material world. Marine imagery is more characteristic of his writings than that of any other poet, and it was to the Mediterranean and its sunny shores that he was indebted for it all.

as the stately vessel glided slow

Beneath the shadow of that ancient mount,
He watched the billows melancholy flow,
And, sunk albeit in thought as he was wont,

More placid seem'd his eye, and smooth his pallid front.

It was a point of the greatest importance to determine on the particular part of Greece to which his lordship should direct his course the country was afflicted by intestine divisions, and lord Byron thought that if he wished to serve it, he must keep aloof from faction. The different parties had their different seats of influence, and to choose a residence, if not in fact, was in appearance to choose a party. In a country where communication is impeded by natural obstacles and unassisted by civilized regulations, which had scarcely succeeded. in expelling a barbarian master, and where the clashing interests of contending factions often make it advantageous to

conceal the truth, the extreme difficulty of procuring accurate information may be easily supposed. It, therefore, became necessary to make some stay in a place which might serve as a convenient post of observation, and from which assistance could be rendered where it appeared to be most needed. Cephalonia was fixed upon; where lord Byron was extremely well received by the English civil and military authorities, who, generally speaking, seemed well inclined to further the objects of his visit to Greece. Anxious, however, to avoid involving the government of the island in any difficulty respecting himself, or for some other cause, he remained on board the vessel until further intelligence could be procured.

At the time of lord Byron's arrival in the Ionian Islands, Greece, though even then an intelligent observer could scarcely entertain a doubt of her ultimate success, was in a most unsettled state. The third campaign had commenced, and had already been marked by several instances of distinguished success. Odysseus and Niketas had already effectually harassed and dispersed the two armies of Yusuff Pasha, and Mustapha Pasha, who had entered Eastern Greece, by the passes of Thermopyla. Corinth, still held by the Turks, was reduced to the greatest extremities-and, indeed, surrendered in the course of the autumn.-The Morea might almost be said to be thoroughly emancipated. Patras, Modon, and Coron, and the Castle of the Morea, did then, and still hold out against the combined assaults of famine and the troops of the besiegers. But the ancient Peloponnesus had, at this moment, more to fear from the dissentions of its chiefs, than the efforts of the enemy-they had absolutely assumed something like the character of a civil war. The generals had been ordered on different services, when it appeared, that the funds destined for the maintenance of their armies were already consumed in satisfying old demands for arrears. Much confusion arose, and a bloody conflict actually took place in the streets of Tripolitza, between a troop of Spartiates and another of Arcadians, the followers of rival leaders. The military chiefs at the head of whom was the able but avaricious Colocotronis, at that time vice-president of the executive government, were jealous of the party which may be termed the civil faction. Over this party presided Mavrocordatos, who, as a Constantinopolitan, was considered as a foreigner, and who, on account of his being a dexterous diplomatist, a good letter-writer, and a lover of intrigue, was regarded with feelings of jealousy and hatred by the rude and iron-handed generals of the Morea. Mavrocordatos was secretary for foreign affairs, and was accused of holding,

correspondence with foreign courts without the knowledge of the government, and of aiming at getting himself elected the president of the legislative body. It turned out that the actual president fled from the seat of government, and that Mavrocordatos was elected into the office. He too was soon, obliged to retreat, had just resigned the office and retired to the island of Hydra, where the civil and commercial party was strong, and where he was held in considerable estimation, when lord Byron arrived at Cephalonia.

At this moment, too, Western Greece was in a very critical situation Mustapha, Pasha of Scutari was advancing into Acarnania in large force, and was on the point of being resisted by the chivalrous devotion of the brave Marco Botzaris. This chief, worthy of the best days of Greece, succeeded on the 9th of August (O. S.) by his famous night attack, in cutting off a considerable part of the Turkish army, and fell a sacrifice to his generous efforts. In spite of this check, however, the Pasha advanced and proceeded towards Anatolicon and Messolonghi ; the latter place was invested by Mustapha, and the Albanian chief, Omer-Vriones, by the early part of October. The Turkish fleet had arrived in the waters of Patras about the middle of June, and continued to blockade (at least nominally) Messolonghi, and all the other ports of Western Greece up to the arrival of lord Byron.

Previous to Marco Botzaris' arrival at Carpenissi, the little village where he discomfited the Turks, he had heard of lord Byron's arrival in Greece, and it is not a little remarkable that the last act he did before proceeding to the attack, was to write a warm invitation to his lordship to come to Messolonghi, offering to leave the army, and to give him a public reception in a manner suitable to the occasion and serviceable to the cause

To all who know the circumstances of that memorable battle and the character of this heroic man, this letter cannot fail to be interesting. We will translate the part which relates to lord Byron. It is dated at the 'piccolo villagio' of Carpenissi on the of August.

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"I am delighted", he says to a friend in Cephalonia, “with your account of lord Byron's disposition with respect to our country. The advice you have given his Lordship to direct his attention to Western Greece, has caused us the greatest satisfaction; and I feel obliged by your continued exertions in the service of our country. I am not a little pleased at his Lordship's peculiar attention to my fellow-countrymen, the Suliotes, on whom he has conferred the honour of selecting them for his guards. Avail yourself of this kindness of